Sonora stared at the horse in front of her, her face was an emotionless mask and her right eyebrow had ticked up. The horse stared back at her, jaws grinding the straw between its teeth in an almost lazy fashion while its tail flicked around its withers. She blinked before turning to Daryl. "I have to ride this thing… because?" she asked, pointing over her shoulder at the brown animal in question.

Daryl stared at her, not really used to people asking him things that the answer to was obvious. "We're searchin' for Sophia… You're goin' with me so that if one of us gets hurt then the other can either cart the body back here or dispatch it if it's a walker bite. Ya got me?" he stated more than asked, turning back to his own horse and fixing the saddle on it.

Sonora turned back to the horse, the saddle and bridle had already been placed on it courtesy of her… dad… and now all she had to do was mount up and ride.

Easier said than done.

The last time she'd been on a horses back was at her seventh birthday party when her mom had taken her to a fair and she'd ridden in a circle on one while a tall man led them.

Sonora heard leather creak and glanced over at Daryl, noticing that he was already mounted and was waiting, impatiently, for her to do the same. She sighed and walked to the left side of the animal, threw her foot into the stirrup, and then climbed on. Daryl clicked his tongue as she sat down and both horses started moving forward. Sonora was nearly unseated; she glared at his back while giggles escaped her mouth.

She hated her insane-ness, she could be completely pissed off and still have room to laugh like a hyena. Daryl glanced back at her. "You'll want to pick your reigns up." He drawled lazily. "Also, hold on with your knees, it'll give you a better grip and you might not fall off."

Sonora made a face at him, one hand holding her reigns and the pommel of the saddle while the other was trying to hold the stirrup on her right still. She'd not gotten her foot in when the blasted horse started moving so she was trying to do so now while also trying to hold her balance.

It was going to be a long ride she figured, flipping Daryl's back a bird as she finally got her foot in the stirrup and straightened up.

…

When they got to a thick patch of woods Daryl stopped his horse, Sonora's thankfully stopping as well behind the other. Her father looked around, drawing his crossbow around and taking the strap off his shoulder. Sonora closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the woods a little more intently than she had been doing, one hand going over her shoulder to the katana strapped there. She drew it and held it by her side, twisting her head so she could get a better read on the noises around her.

Nothing seemed out of place, Sonora opened her eyes and glanced around, not finding anything noteworthy. Daryl nodded to himself and then clucked to the horse he was on, putting his crossbow back on his shoulders; Sonora kicked her horse slightly, keeping her sword in her hand.

Both animals moved along, their hoof beats padding a rhythm on the forest floor. Sonora cocked her head to listen, liking the way it sounded.

"What kind of blade is that?" Daryl's voice cut through her thoughts and she snapped her head up, eyes blinking at him for a second.

"It's a double edge katana, not as long as a regular sword, not as heavy, but just as strong." She stated, rolling her eyes over to the black blade in her right hand, twisting her wrist so it moved and she could look at one edge now.

"Humph." Daryl scoffed, turning his head back around and looking around a little more. Sonora stuck her tongue out at him, giggles rising once more. Daryl noticed. "If you get to laughin' and fall offa your horse don't expect me to pick you up." He told her.

Sonora clenched her teeth, keeping her laughing muffled.

A crash to their immediate left had both the horses skittering to the right, Sonora almost falling from her saddle, and Daryl swinging his crossbow up and around at the noise.

Sonora regained her seat amid more giggles, damning them in her mind, and then swung her head around to see three walkers coming out of the bushes. Daryl cussed and fired his crossbow, an arrow hitting one between the eyes; he muttered more curses as he reloaded the weaponry as the first walker fell.

Sonora sighed and turned the horse, clicking her tongue so it could move into a trot and bringing her katana up. She didn't feel steady on the back of this animal, but her aim was true, her blade hit first one, then the other, walker. The bodies fell back against the weight even as Sonora's upper torso twisted from the impact. But both heads had been chopped in half, the top sliding off of the bottom.

She slowed the horse, turning it and moving back to her dad. "Nice shot." She murmured, stopping the big brown animal and looking at the two downed walkers. She would have to clean her sword before she put it back in the casing, but at least she wasn't walker food.

Daryl stared at her for a moment before glancing up at the sky. "Come on, it's gettin' dark, we need to head back to camp." He stated, turning his horse around and then making it canter off.

Sonora's animal followed, nearly unseating her once more, she glared at Daryl again as she laughed her heart out.

…

"So what all did you do before the walkers came around?" the question was asked by the dark skinned cop, Sonora looked up from her squirrel and chewed for a moment, thinking over her answer.

Her left hand, which had been holding the plate filled with squirrel stew, lowered a little. Her eyes got a little squinty as she scrutinized the man on the other side of the fire pit. "I worked." She answered vaguely.

The man rolled his eyes, scoffing slightly. "Well I would have guessed that. But where did you work, how in the ever living hell did you come across us?" he elaborated.

Sonora put her spoon in the bowl, watching the liquid seep over the sides and pull it under. "I was… a whore." She tilted her head to the side a bit and smiled a very fake smile, eyes crinkling until they were nearly closed.

Their reactions were very amusing; the brown haired woman clapped her hands over Carl's ears. Her husband turned a very bright red as did a few of the other surrounding males, her father and the other cop included. Dale was looking at her in shock and the other two females looked ready to burst.

Then Sonora keeled over laughing, hand circling her stomach as her bowl of soup fell to the ground and splattered, some of it getting on her boots. The surrounding people blinked at her and then realized that she had been pulling their tails and started glaring, the woman holding her hands over Carl's ears looked ready to start yelling at her.

When Sonora was done laughing she straightened up and glanced down at her bowl, realizing that she would need more food. She looked back up at the gathering, still with her jaw cracking grin on. "I actually worked with a few people doing odds and ends kind of stuff. Good money too, if it was the right job." She stated.

The people surrounding her glared at her, making her chuckle before picking her bowl up and then depositing it on the stump next to her. She then stood and brushed her cargo pants off and then proceeded to the tent that had been designated as hers. She still had to clean her katana before the night was over; she still hadn't put it back in its scabbard.

The sound of footsteps followed hers and she glanced over her shoulder, finding that Daryl was following her, looking quite angry as well. She sighed as the giggles started coming up her throat, but kept on towards her tent. If he wanted to speak with her then it could be while she cleaned her weapon.

When they reached her tent she unzipped it and stepped inside, lighting the gas lamp hanging from a hook before grabbing her sword and a cleaning rag before sitting down. Daryl zipped the tent door closed and pulled a milk crate out from one of the walls, sitting on it when it was in the middle of the temporary home.

"What can I help you with?" Sonora asked, taking a canteen of water out from under her bed and pouring a little on her rag. She would have to make sure the blade was completely dry before she put it back in the scabbard, she didn't want it to rust.

"Don't make jokes like that." Daryl said, watching her hands work over the blade of the sword, swiping the rag so the dried walker blood would come off. "Also, you'll be coming with me again tomorrow when we go out to search for Sophia, out of all the idiots here only you don't use a gun, and I like to be silent so the walkers don't crowd us." He told her.

Sonora shrugged, barely glancing up from her ministrations to her sword. "Is that all?" she asked, flipping the katana over so she could start on the other side.

"Don't get eaten." Was all he said before he stood, unzipped the tent, stepped out, rezipped it, and then left.

Sonora rolled her eyes. "Getting eaten would defeat the whole point of survival." She muttered, putting the water away and switching rags, moving a dry one over the surface of the fire tempered sword to get the moisture off of it.